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28 September, 2012

China's Bo Xilai expelled and faces criminal charges

China's Bo Xilai expelled and faces criminal charges-bbc

Martin Patience reports: "Murder, corruption and cover-up" exposed at the heart of power

After months of speculation, this announcement seals the fate of the once-powerful Bo Xilai.

China's leaders have chosen to bury him by demolishing his career over the last 20 years. But that runs the risk of raising awkward questions about why Mr Bo kept getting promoted - and why the party had so little apparent oversight.

The timing of this announcement is also significant. Just minutes before the Bo bombshell, China's state-run news agency Xinhua announced the date of the 18th Party Congress. At the congress, China's once-in-a-decade leadership transition will begin.

Before the scandal, Mr Bo had been expected to join the top rank of leaders. But now China's leaders want to try and end a scandal that has exposed murder, cover-up and corruption at the highest level of Chinese politics.'Grave repercussions'

Mr Bo has not been seen in public since mid-March, shortly after the scandal erupted and it was announced he was under investigation. He was suspended from his party posts in April.

Reporting an official statement from a party leaders' meeting, the state news agency, Xinhua, said Mr Bo stood accused of corruption, abuse of power, bribe-taking and improper relations with women.

The statement carried by Xinhua said Mr Bo "took advantage of his office to seek profits for others and received huge bribes personally and through his family".

It added: "Bo's behaviour brought serious consequences, badly undermined the reputation of the party and the country, created very negative impact at home and abroad and significantly damaged the cause of the party and people".

The statement urged "party organisations at all levels" to take heed of the "negative example" of the Bo Xilai case.

Xinhua said the violations included Mr Bo's time as an official in Dalian and Liaoning provinces, and as minister of commerce.Bo Xilai (C) with convicted wife Gu Kailai and son Bo Guagua

"Bo had affairs and maintained improper sexual relationships with a number of women," the statement added.

Xinhua said Mr Bo had been expelled from the party and the elite decision-making Politburo and Central Committee as he had "abused his power, made severe mistakes and bore major responsibility in the Wang Lijun incident and the intentional homicide case of [Gu Kailai]".

Wang Lijun was Chongqing's former police chief who was sentenced to 15 years in jail for ''bending the law, defection, abuse of power and bribetaking" in the Neil Heywood case.Continue reading the main story“Start Quote

The severity of the accusations against Mr Bo surprised some observers, who had thought he might escape criminal prosecution.

"The party is very anxious to settle this contentious issue before the opening of the party congress," Prof Willy Lam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong told the Associated Press.

"So I think even though there are still powerful supporters and patrons of Bo Xilai, they have agreed to this stiff penalty to be meted out against Bo. And having settled this contentious issue, the party leadership is in a position to start the party congress with a facade of unity."

There had been no formal word on the congress date until now, but many observers expected it in October. Prof Lam suggested that any delay had been because of "intensive competition among the various factions".

There was speedy reaction to the latest news on China's social media sites.Continue reading the main storyTimeline: Bo Xilai scandal6 Feb: Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun flees to the US consulate in Chengdu15 Mar: Bo Xilai is removed from his post in Chongqing20 Mar: Rumours suggest Mr Bo could be linked to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood10 Apr: Mr Bo is suspended from party posts and his wife, Gu Kailai, is investigated over Mr Heywood's death26 July: Gu Kailai and Bo family employee Zhang Xiaojun are charged with killing Mr Heywood9 Aug: Gu one-day trial for murder held20 Aug: Gu given suspended death sentence5 Sep: Wang charged with defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking24 Sep: Wang sentenced to 15 years in jail28 Sep: Bo Xilai expelled from party to "face justice"Scandal timelineBo charges: Party statement

On Sina Weibo, Shenjing Jihua posted that Mr Bo had "finally met his end", adding: "So justice will prevail, and there is still hope for China."

Although there were some postings in support of Mr Bo, others broadened the affair into a critique of Chinese corruption.

Huaju Yanyuan on QQ.com said: "The case of Bo Xilai tells us that one overlooked event led to a series of troubles, and that there isn't any clean official in China."

The news came on the eve of a national holiday, raising suspicions the authorities wanted to bury the announcement, some observers note.

Xinhua has also announced that the party congress, which will herald the change of China's leadership, will begin on 8 November.

The Bo Xilai scandal has been China's biggest in decades and has cast a long shadow over the run-up to the congress, which is expected to see Xi Jinping replace Hu Jintao as president.

Mr Bo, 63, had been a prime candidate for a top post before the scandal broke.

It started when Wang Lijun fled to a US consulate in February, alleging that Gu Kailai had poisoned Neil Heywood to death in November 2011.

Gu was convicted of killing Mr Heywood after a multi-million dollar business deal turned sour. Mr Bo's supporters have claimed from the start that he is being framed by his political enemies, correspondents say.